Free word count for essay assignments and college applications. Select a limit preset — Common App, UC, IELTS, and more — and track your count with a live progress bar. College essay word counter for students, no signup.
Paste your essay text into the free essay word counter above. The word count updates instantly. You can also select a word limit preset to see a progress bar showing how close you are to the limit.
The Common App personal essay has a 650-word limit (minimum 250 words). Select "Common App (650)" in the preset buttons to track your word count against this limit in real time.
Select your application type from the limit presets — Common App, UC, Harvard Supplement, Personal Statement, IELTS, TOEFL, or Custom. Then paste your essay. The counter shows words and a progress bar: green under 80%, amber 80–95%, red if over the limit.
A word counter for students tracks words in essays and applications and compares the count to academic word limits. This essay word counter includes presets for Common App, UC, Harvard, IELTS, TOEFL, and graduate SOP so students can track against their exact limit.
A standard 5-paragraph essay is typically 500–800 words: introduction (~100 words), three body paragraphs (~150–200 words each), and conclusion (~100 words). Use the Custom limit setting to track your specific target.
This essay word counter counts everything you paste in — including titles. For college applications, paste only the essay body. Application platforms count only the body text, not the prompt or title.
Completely free with no signup, no usage limits, and no data sent to a server. All counting runs in your browser.
This free essay word counter is built specifically for students who need to hit precise word limits for college applications, academic essays, and standardized tests. Unlike general word counters, it includes built-in presets for every major application type — Common App (650), UC Personal Insight (350), Harvard Supplement (150), Personal Statement (500), Graduate SOP (1000), IELTS (250 minimum), and TOEFL (300 minimum). The progress bar changes from green to amber at 80% of the limit and red when over, so you can see at a glance whether to trim or expand.
The hardest part of writing a college essay is not what you say — it is saying it within the limit. The Common App 650-word limit is strict: the platform cuts off submission if you exceed it. UC essays cap at 350 words per question. Harvard Supplement additional essays are as short as 150 words. Use this word counter for students to paste your draft, select the relevant preset, and see exactly how many words you have left. After hitting the word count target, run the grammar checker and essay feedback tool to polish your final draft.